Chapter 12 - CLARICE’S CRIMINAL CASE
The kennel footage was enough.
Seventeen recordings.
Different durations.
Cormac crying.
Clarice placing crackers inside.
Clarice restarting timers when he shouted for me.
Not starvation.
Not torture in the legal sense prosecutors would need to prove.
Repeated punitive confinement of a preschool child inside an animal kennel.
The prosecutor charged:
Child endangerment.
Unlawful restraint under applicable law.
Misdemeanor assault related to force used placing him inside.
One broader abuse count requiring higher injury proof was not pursued.
Good.
No charge stacking for headlines.
Stetson testified.
That surprised Clarice.
Her face changed when he took the stand.
“Did you see your mother lock Cormac in the kennel?”
“Yes.”
“How many times?”
“Six.”
“Did you stop her?”
“Once.”
“Why not the others?”
Stetson cried.
“I was afraid of her.”
“Afraid she would hurt you?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
“My job. My family position. Money. Her approval.”
There.
No heroic rewriting.
Then:
“Did you believe the kennel was appropriate?”
“No.”
“Then why leave him?”
“I kept telling myself it was temporary and that getting Sabra to sign would end it.”
The prosecutor said:
“So you transferred responsibility for stopping abuse to the person being pressured.”
“Yes.”
Clarice looked at him with pure hatred.
Cormac did not testify live.
His forensic interviews and recordings were used where legally permitted.
I testified.
So did the pediatrician.
The jury convicted Clarice on the core child-endangerment and restraint counts.
One aggravated count ended in acquittal because there was insufficient proof of intent to cause serious bodily injury.
Correct.
At sentencing Clarice said:
“I was disciplining an impossible child.”
I stopped breathing.
The judge did not.
“He was four.”
Clarice looked down.
Sentence:
Custodial term.
Part suspended.
Probation.
No-contact order.
No unsupervised minor contact.
Mandatory treatment.
Permanent exclusion from family caregiving roles involving trust benefits.
Her trust removal had already occurred separately.
Outside, I said nothing.
May you like
Cormac was at kindergarten orientation.
Better use of the day.
